Adventskalendars are one tradition I love about Christmas in Germany. No matter how tiny the presents – even if only a thumbnail sized picture on a postcard – for me, Adventskalendars are always exciting and fun. After partaking in Fräulein Anker's Adventskalendar giveaway last year, I knew that I badly wanted to organize one on Ookie Dough this year. And I managed! Below I have curated some of my favorite café treats amongst other food related products for you to win.
Ookie Dough Adventskalender Giveaway:
An Adventskalendar is usually a calendar of gifts, the 24 days of December before Christmas. My Adventskalendar on Ookie Dough is a little bit different from the standard version. I don't have 24 presents, but only 15. However, these are a bit more exciting than what is usually hidden in these goodie bags. The first present will be gifted on Nicolaus, December 6th. Then I will give myself "a day off of work" every Sunday ;) (like German tradition wants me to do). Lastly, you unfortunately can't win a present every of these days. But you do have a chance to win a present on up to three of any of the days, just do the following:
- Comment the three days on which you would like to win a present in the comment box below.
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Qualify: For your participation to be qualified you have to do one of the following four options:
- Share on Facebook: Share my Facebook post of this Adventskalendar on your Facebook (find it on my FB page here). Make sure to tag me with @Ookie Dough.
- Instagram Repost: Post an Instagram picture about my Adventskalender (you can use any picture with the hashtag #OokiesAdventskalender or also an own picture of yours that relates to my Adventskalender). Make sure to tag me with @ookiedough and also use the hashtag #OokiesAdventskalender. (I'm not super strict, give it your best try and I'll count a good effort :) )
- Instagram Story Repost: Post a picture of my Facebook/Blog/Instagram Post on your Instagram Stories (find optional pictures under #OokiesAdventskalender on Instagram). Make sure to tag me with @ookiedough. (Same here, be creative, I'm not super strict!)
- Write an Email: If you don't use social media (well thumbs up), you can of course still take part! Send an email to five or more people, telling them about my Adventskalendar. Make sure to attach an active link of this post to it. Then, forward me the email (ookiedough.blog@gmail.com).
- Lastly, yes, I also have these annoying "small font participation rules" (e.g. that you have to have a shipping address in Europe). Find them at the bottom of the post.
This calendar is a preview of the presents you can win. They aren't one to one the prize, but give a hint of it. Find the exact meaning of each Adventsgift in the descriptions below:
6th: Two Open-Faced Sandwiches from Kropkå
Kropkå only opened in May and already is a local hotspot – find out why, on my post here. I especially recommend coming to this café for the "toasts". You won't find any better ones in town. The traditional wood-fire baked bread is topped with traditional German as well as hipster combinations. My favorites are the fluffy cream-cheese, avocado, sesame, (+bacon) or warm sautéed mushrooms with parsley and garlic cream or her family tuna-spread recipe with shallots and capers. But sorry, you will only get to choose toasts for two people if you're my first lucky Adventswinner!
Advents-Gift: a certificate for two open-faced sandwiches, free for you to choose
7th: An Evening for Two at the Xmas-Market Apostelkirche
The christmas market at the Apostelkirche in Eimsbüttel is the cutest one I have seen in Hamburg. What makes it unique is that people come here to chill for hours, in the cold and dark winter evenings. It's neighbourhoody, cozy and always friendly. No drunk crowds of people spill their Glühwein on your coat. Here, colourful huts are arranged in a circle around the center fireplace. You'll find local and handmade products as well as vegan burgers and twists on traditional Xmas-market foods. Tonight you have the chance to win a certificate for an evening here: two warm drinks in the cutest cups ever, along with two dinners, such as a homemade pulled pork sandwich or a vegan soup from the Souperia. If you want to know what else makes the Weihnachtsmarkt an der Apostelkirche so charming, read my post here!
Advents-Gift: a certificate for two drinks (mulled red or white wine, currant cider, hot chocolate…) and two meals from the blue hut (currywurst with homemade curry ketchup, pulled pork sandwich, soups).
8th: 25€ Local Shopping Certificate from Findeling
Findeling is a local shopping app. They guide you to some of the coolest individual boutiques and concept stores in town. I especially like to the app when I'm looking for presents or souvenirs. Then I search under the "handmade" or "Made in Hamburg" tag and get the whole array of local stores selling such items. If you're the lucky winner of this 25€ Advents-certificate, I highly recommend checking out the following shops: Winkel van Sinkel, Ahoi Marie, Tom Klee, B-Lage (Hamburg) and R.S.V.P or Juwel (Berlin).
Advents-Gift: a 25€ shopping certificate that you can use in stores in Hamburg, Berlin, Köln and Munich
9th: Breakfast at the BRÄI Porridge Pop Up
Hamburg's first porridge café has opened: BRÄI. The three ladies behind the pop up all have another job, but realized how desperate this type of breakfast café was becoming in Hamburg (at least that's my interpretation ;)) – so they decided to take a second one on themselves. At Bräi, the oats get cookies in the Scottish way, (unsweetened and with water) free for you to choose how sweet you want to top them. I highly recommend a version with goat cheese and coconut glazed pears, but also can't wait to try the winter specials. Apple-pumpkin and carrot-spekulatius creations will come on the menu next week! And if you don't win a warming winter breakfast today, I would definitely advise a short stop at this Pop Up before the ice cream stores takes over next spring again!
Advents-Gift: a certificate for a porridge with three extra toppings and a warm drink (Bräi is only open till the beginning of February)
11th: Prana Chai
Prana Chai is indirectly one of the reasons how I got into the specialty coffee movement – or is specialty coffee how I got into Prana Chai? More on that another day. The founders discovered this signature drink on a long trek through the Nepalese mountains. They experimented till they found the perfect recipe for their future café in Melbourne. Now you can find these brown paper bags all over the world – predominantly in specialty coffee shops (or my kitchen). This chai is no joke. It tastes amazingly fresh and flavourful. There aren't many better options for what to sip on a cold winter day. Getting to know chai through Prana Chai was a bad idea, because now every other chai I have tried has disappointed me. But as long as I have a stash at home, there's no problem. Do you need some too? Then comment nr. 11 down below!
Advents-Gift: one bag of fresh Prana Chai
12th: Cookbook from Ti Breizh
Ti Breizh is Hamburg's home to the breton cuisine. The French cooks import their ingredients from Brittany to recreate these amazing galettes (savory buckwheat crêpes) in Hamburg. Unfortunately Ti Breizh doesn't make certificates yet. So today, you can win a cookbook, that will enable you to prepare these mouth-watering galettes and crêpes at home. Still, I recommend going to Ti Breizh first, that you know how exactly they are supposed to taste ;) If you're not convinced enough to go, then read my article here, and then I am sure that you will be then.
Advents-Gift: "Galettes & Crêpes – C'est Bon" cookbook from Ti Breizh
13th: Flat Whites and Accessories from Public Coffee Roasters
Public Coffee Roasters is a dominant part of Hamburg's specialty coffee scene. They now have three unique locations. One small, dim café in the neighbourhoody district of Neustadt. A second, industrial-chic spot in upscale Winterhude. Their third café just opened in the Speicherstadt, where you can watch business life go by through surrounding glass walls. Even for a coffee at home, Public will have you covered. Their four specialty espresso roasts range from fruity to chocolatey. The latter is optimal for home baristas who drink very good coffee, but don't know how to adjust their machine like Scandinavian baristas do yet. With the Public Coffee Roaster Adventgifts you have the chance to further improve your barista skills. In their "What would Jesus brew" shopping bag I will pack a Black Beauty espresso blend, along with two cappuccino cups to drink your craft in. Then, take your coffee tæster along to one of their cafés and test if you have mastered the Black Beauty as good as they have.
Advents-Gift: a Black Beauty espresso roast (a very balanced, creamy blend from Tansania, Guatemala and Brasil with dark chocolate-caramel notes), two cappuccino cups, a shopping bag and a certificate for two flat whites
14th: Breakfast at DALUMA (Berlin)
Hamburg has nothing comparable to the superfood café DALUMA in Berlin. It's actually one of the very first places I blogged about, when I started this "Hamburg café guide blog" ;). A 2h commute from the Hansesadt is worth it. Here you will get some of the most delectable breakfast bowls and smoothies. David, Lukas and Marian developed them together with a nutritionist. The organic ingredients they use are some things that I have otherwise only heard of from bloggers over seas – such as activated charcoal, caju (the fruit from the cashew nut), ashwaghanda, and water kefir. My favorite breakfast dish at DALUMA is the "I want it all" bowl. This is a mix of their three breakfast bowl bases (probiotic oats, coconut yogurt, chia pudding) and toppings (exotic acerola-caju, acai-berry, nutty cream). If you are a savory breakfasters then your choices for today's certificate are picturesque avocado toasts and or comforting Shakshuka!
Advents-Gift: a certificate for a breakfast dish and hot drink (both free to choose)
15th: Flat Whites and Pastries from CODOS Brewbar
CODOS Brewbar is Hamburg's cutest specialty coffee shop. For no apparent reason, most "coffee geeks" in town miss this cute, bright brewbar. However it's one of my favourites spots for a coffee and pastry in Hamburg. Their flat whites have won multiple "best flat white I have ever tasted" praises from the coffee lovers I sent here. And their pastries always hit the spot. The selection covers everything, from dainty to lavish, vegan to gluten-free, spongy to fudgy, and finger-food to fork & knife desserts. . . My favourite choices are the brownie bites and lemon-almond cake. On December 15th a lucky person can take their friend a long and find their favorite pastry next to the "best flat white they have every tasted". – read more about CODOS on my full post here
Advents-Gift: a certificate for two flat whites and two cakes (Ottensen or Sternschanze)
16th: Nutorious Peanut Butters from Winkel van Sinkel
Nutorious Peanut Butter is a small brand from Amsterdam, that craft unique organic peanut butters. In the Netherlands pindakaas usually has added sugar and oil, and is eaten on fluffy white bread with chocolate sprinkles on top. However this small brand has created natural flavors that allow you to "change the peanut butter game". Eat them with veggies, on ice cream, in your bowl of granola, or pure.
I got to know Nutorious at Winkel van Sinkel in Hamburg. Here they present Nutorious' stylish three flavors between the jungle of succulents. To be honest, I think Winkel van Sinkel is "changing the interior game" in Hamburg. They were Hamburg's first and are still the foremost concept store of this kind. Enter the minimalistic jungle to see for yourself. (Or read more here, on the article I wrote on Typisch Hamburch in german. Hopefully you can read more on Ookie Dough soon too!)
Advents-Gift: the three different Nutorious peanut butters (honey-cinnamon, white-pepper and chili-sambal)
18th: Cappuccinos and Cinnamon rolls at Balz & Balz
The siblings Chris and Kathrin Balz combine specialty coffee with homemade, traditional german food. They have created a super welcoming, cozy and modern café between Hoheluft and Eppendorf. No doubt that their coffee is perfect, but another one of the most popular items are their home-baked cinnamon rolls. "Unfortunately" these only come in pairs of two. So enter my lucky number 18, to invite your best buddy to an afternoon treat. Actually it should be a late morning treat, because in the afternoon the cinnamon rolls will probably already have sold out. – read what more to find at Balz's in my post here
Advents-Gift: a certificate for two cappuccinos and two cinnamon rolls
19th: Hamburg for Women Only – a Local Guide by Femtastics
Femtastics is a online-magazine with interviews and stories all around legit girl-power. (Find my interview with them, in german, here.) However, the three journalists behind Femtastics, Lisa, Anna and Katharina, have also written a stylish local guide with curated tips for the ladies of this town: Hamburg for Women only. Sometimes I think highly of myself. So I was pretty positive that I knew every concept store and café in town, that was of interest to me. However their local guide proved me wrong. There are classic and secret tips that range from cafés and shops to cultural activities.
Advents-Gift: the "Hamburg for Women Only" local guide
(from Lisa van Houtem, Anna Weilberg and Katharina Charpian, published by Nicole Adler, Brandstätter Verlag)
20th: Artisan Hot Chocolate by Hermetic Coffee Roasters
Before I really knew Less Political, I thought it was just another hipster hangout for specialty coffee in the Schanze. However after interviewing the owner, Mika, for my article on European Coffee Trip, this place has become a gem to me. It's artistic, authentic, experimental and true to itself. Not only their coffee roast is treated like a chemistry, but their newest hot chocolate is too. After experimenting for months they found the perfect balance of sweetness, body, acidity, bitterness and fruityness. The outcome is a vegan hot chocolate, that is velvety smooth and delicately bursting in flavour. Today you have the chance to win one of their hermetic bags to prepare this hot chocolate snuggly at home. If you are not the lucky one or need more chocolate treats alongside it, I recommend seeing Less Political for yourself. Here you can taste their monthly special flavour (like cardamon) and accompany it by a rich, dense brownie!
Advents-Gift: one bag of Hermetic Coffee Roaster's vegan hot chocolate mix
21st: Breakfast for Two from Alpenkantine
Alpenkantine is a modern alpine bistro in Eimsbüttel-flair. Find the concrete sources of my love for this place on my post here. It's one of my top choices where to go for breakfast or lunch when I meet a friend. Also, not to forget, Alpenkantine is the café that reintroduced me to Prana Chai in Hamburg. This month they will upgrade their breakfast menu with ricotta-pancakes. They are topped with compote, fresh fruit and can be sweetened to ones pleasing. Do you fancy to dine some of those along with Prana Chai for breakfast? Then add 21 to your comments down below!
Advents-Gift: a certificate for two ricotta-pancake breakfast dishes and two coffees or choose
22nd: Six Special Clif Bars (from the US)
Once upon a time I was addicted to clif bars. I nibbled one every evening after practice (sometimes even while riding my bike home in freezing weather). All my savings and suitcase space went on them, so I could take home the coolest flavors from the US. Two years ago I actually already started a blog post, analysing all the different flavors and comparing them to different bars – let's see if that will ever come to an end. Because today I prefer cafés stops, and in the hours between, I have enough time to cook. So my clif bars are slowly getting a sad face, hidden in my secret drawer at home. I think it's time to gift away a bit of my stash. Here you go :)
Advents-Gift: the following six clif bars: Sierra Trail Mix (Nuts/chocolate/raisins), Coconut Chocolate Chip, Peanut Toffee Buzz (with caffeine), Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch – (I'm sorry, they already expired between February and May 2017, so they might not taste as awesome as when freshly bought but the flavours are still very palatable!)
23rd: Marinski Heartmade Cup
As much as I love going out to cafés, I love making breakfast bowls in my kitchen as well. Here too, it's about more than just the taste and quality. The ceramic my breakfast is comforted by, plays a big role. No bowl has pleased me more than those by Marina Marinski from Croatia. I first found them in a local shop in Split, Croatia two years ago. Since then I have slowly been building my collection of her other designs – bobbles, vases, cups.
I don't know if you prefer bread or porridge for breakfast… but nobody can tell me that they don't drink coffee/tea/chai/hot chocolate in this time of year. Now that I have introduced you to some of my favorite winter drinks, you can also get the cup to drink it in!
Advents-Gift: this black ceramic cup by Marinski Heartmades from Croatia
So so… now christmas season has officially started. ♥ Snuggle up, decorate your home, light some candles, bake some cookies . . . and tell me what your favorite days of my Adventskalendar giveaway are! Or just live your life as usual and don't get stressed by a holiday that's actually just supposed to bring harmony and smiles.
All Adventspresents at a glance:
6. Kropkå: a certificate for two open-faced sandwiches, free for you to choose
7. Xmas-Market Apostelkirche: a certificate for two drinks (mulled red or white wine, currant cider, hot chocolate…) and two meals from the blue hut (currywurst with homemade curry ketchup, pulled pork sandwich, soups)
8. Findeling: a 25€ shopping certificate that you can use in stores in Hamburg, Berlin, Köln and Munich
9. Bräi – Porridge & Coffee: a certificate for a porridge with three extra toppings and a warm drink
11. Prana Chai: one bag of fresh Prana Chai
12. Ti Breizh: "Galettes & Crêpes – C'est Bon" cookbook
13. Public Coffee Roasters: a Black Beauty espresso roast, two cappuccino cups, a shopping bag and a certificate for two flat whites
14. DALUMA (Berlin): a certificate for a breakfast dish and hot drink
15. CODOS Brewbar: a certificate for two flat whites and two pastries (Ottensen or Sternschanze)
16. Winkel van Sinkel: three different Nutorious peanut butters (honey-cinnamon, white-pepper and chili-sambal)
18. Balz und Balz: a certificate for two cappuccinos and two cinnamon rolls
19. Femtastics: the "Hamburg for Women Only" local guide book
20. Less Political: one bag of Hermetic Coffee Roaster's vegan hot chocolate mix
21. Alpenkantine: a certificate for a ricotta-pancake breakfasts with Prana Chai for two
22. Clif Bars: six clif bars imported from the US (Sierra Trail Mix (nuts/chocolate/raisins), Coconut Chocolate Chip, Peanut Toffee Buzz (with caffeine), Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch)
23. Marinski Heartmades: black dotted ceramic cup, handmade from Croatia
The winners of my Adventskalender Giveaway:
Dec. 6, Kropkå: Clara Dec. 7, Xmas Market Apostelkirche: Jessi Dec. 8, Findeling: Julia Dec. 9, Bräi: Leonike Dec. 11, Prana Chai: Jana Dec. 12, Ti Breizh Cookbook: Sara Dec. 13, Public Coffee Roasters: Andrea Dec. 14, DALUMA: Melanie Dec. 15, CODOS Brewbar: Paul Dec. 16, Nutorious PB (Winkel van Sinkel): Delia Dec. 18, Balz und Balz: Katha Dec. 19, Hamburg for Women Only: Delia Dec. 20, Hermetic Hot Chocolate: Jana Dec. 21, Alpenkantine Pancakes: Alexandra Dec. 22, Clif Bars: Saskia Dec. 23, Marinski Heartmade Cup: Delia
Small Font Participation Rules:
- I have to be able to backtrack that the winner correctly qualified themself, so if you have a private account on instagram/facebook make sure to somehow screenshot what you did and send it to me. Then, if you win, you can have proof of your qualification ;)
- Participants have to be 18 years or older, or otherwise have a signature that allows them to participate by the parents.
- For me to send the gift to the winner, the participant must give me a valid shipping address on the Eurasian landmass. (Europe minus the islands around South American, Africa…)
- As soon as I send off the gift in the mail, I have done my part. I'm very sorry if the mail office will mess it up, but that won't be my responsibility anymore.
- For a participation to be valid, it has to be commented and qualified anytime before 22:00 (UTC+01:00, Berlin time) the day of the gift.
- I am allowed to contact the participants via the email address that was used to comment on this blog post.
- Every person is only allowed to take part once.
- The Adventsgifts are not allowed to be altered or exchanged for their value of money.
- The winner will be chosen randomly on the day of the prize.
- If the winner qualifies themselves via Instagram, I might announce them in my Instagram story unless they directly tell me not to do
Photo credits:
All pictures are made by me except the following:
- The Findeling certificate picture is form Findeling.
- The left, portrait formatted picture in the collage of Prana Chai is from Prana Chai.
- The Ti Breizh cookbook "Galettes & Crêpes – C'est bon" is a screenshot from Amazon.
- The three pictures on the right hand sand of the collage of Public Coffee roasters (cup, baggie, coffee roast) are from Public Coffee Roasters.
- The right picture of the collage for "Hamburg for Women Only", is from Brxndstätter Verlag.
- The top right picture in the collage for the Hermetic hot chocolate is from Less Political.
- The picture of the pancakes from Alpenkantine is from Alpenkantine.
- The picture of the Marinski Heartmade Cup is by Marinski Heartmade.